When the Ground Is Hard
Penguin Young Readers Group · Paperback · June 1, 2021
Edgar Award nominee stuns in this heartrending tale set in a Swaziland boarding school where two girls of different castes bond over a shared copy of Jane Eyre.
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- Who it’s for
- A boarding-school friendship story where a shared classic meets prejudice, loyalty, and a campus mystery.
- Genres
- Africa for Teens, Coming of Age, YA Mysteries
- Published
- Penguin Young Readers Group, June 1, 2021
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Start with this bookAbout this book
Edgar Award nominee stuns in this heartrending tale set in a Swaziland boarding school where two girls of different castes bond over a shared copy of Jane Eyre. A Kirkus Reviews Best Young Adult Book of the Century Adele Joubert loves being one of the popular girls at Keziah Christian Academy. She knows the upcoming semester at school is going to be great with her best friend Delia at her side.
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Then Delia dumps her for a new girl with more money, and Adele is forced to share a room with Lottie, the school pariah, who doesn't pray and defies teachers' orders. But as they share a copy of Jane Eyre, Lottie's gruff exterior and honesty grow on Adele, and Lottie learns to be a little sweeter. Together, they take on bullies and protect each other from the vindictive and prejudiced teachers. Then a boy goes missing on campus and Adele and Lottie must rely on each other to solve the mystery and maybe learn the true meaning of friendship.
Books Between Them
A boarding-school friendship story where a shared classic meets prejudice, loyalty, and a campus mystery.
Come here for
- Jane Eyre as an unlikely bridge between two girls
- Friendship tested by bullies and a missing-boy mystery
Expect
- A coming-of-age story shaped by caste and schoolroom prejudice
- An intimate school setting with mystery threaded through friendship
Where it sits
| YA Mysteries | 65% |
|---|---|
| Coming of Age | 41% |
| Africa for Teens | 31% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- YA Mysteries
- Africa for Teens
- Friendship for Teens
- Authors
- Malla Nunn
- Publisher
- Penguin Young Readers Group
- Published
- June 1, 2021
- Format
- Paperback
- Reading lane
- YA Mysteries